


星のとなりの空け者 ～マサキ～ (Fools Among the Stars)

by mie_tachibana



Series: Blessed by the God of Love [1]
Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Comedy, Crack, Fantasy, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-07
Updated: 2017-07-07
Packaged: 2019-02-04 19:03:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12777474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mie_tachibana/pseuds/mie_tachibana
Summary: Sho the sky god and Satoshi the water god are star-crossed lovers cursed to be apart and can only reunite on the seventh day of the seventh month if it didn't rain. It's been ages since they last met and it might be up to Masaki the kappa to save the day.





	1. Sho

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [星のとなりの空け者](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/340740) by 家の裏でマンボウが死んでるP. 



Any description of Sho was usually preceded by superlatives. The sky god is the most intelligent and beautiful of his sky brethren and is the best at many things. He wove the best clouds and made the best thunderbeats. His dedication to his job was both scary and spectacular and so was his fully booked schedule.  
  
But on his first day assigned to rain department, he was awestruck by the sleepy-looking water god, Satoshi. That was the beginning of the end.

Before Satoshi, the only water gods Sho has ever seen were the ones assigned to make rainbows. They were all just rowdy children, though. There was never one with hair in short brown spikes and a nonchalant stubble. Sho the best of the best of the sky gods knew that he wanted to see more of Satoshi since then. And boy did Satoshi love seeing him too.  
  
They would talk for hours while making rain. Sho did most of the talking and Satoshi did most of the listening, but either way, rain production slowed by a couple percent when the two of them were assigned to it. It was love, though. So they ignored the first, second and third reprimand and they were banished to the opposite sides of the great river between mortals and nonmortals.  
  
But because Sho was the best sky god and Satoshi was the most talented water god, they were permitted to meet but only on the seventh day of the seventh month, unless it was time to make it rain.  
  
Sho sighed at his schedule. The old boss was really testing him, scheduling rain on such a day. He was no longer permitted to work with or even speak to the rain department so all he could do was to walk away angrily. Sometimes he hated that he was in love. He hated that he started it all. Yet he had no one to blame but himself. He picked up a worn-out umbrella and whacked the surrounding bamboos hard, just wanting to let his feelings out.  
  
The bamboos gladly whacked him right back, making him angrier. He threw the umbrella and ran until he didn't recognize his surroundings.  
  
As if the universe conspired against him, he was lost in the nonmoral country.  
  
There was no one but a gloomy-looking ame-warashi in the corner. Those guys worked under the rain department but were not part of them. The ame-otoko simply sent signals to where rain should be. Sho huffed passed the ame-otoko and ran into what felt like a wooden post.  
  
"Oh, fire's sake!" Sho cursed, having stumbled into a puddle did not help his mood. "Watch it, living landslide!"  
  
"S-sorry." the wooden post was actually a tall person who was glowing slightly. A choochin-obake who was standing in the rain in the middle of the road. "I couldn't tie my shoelaces and my friends told me to wait here."  
  
Sho blinked. "Your what?"  
  
"Yes, yes. It's my fault I forgot how the mortals did it." the ame-otoko scoffed as he turned to face them. His wet hair was slicked back and his angry look made both Sho and the chooshin-obake wince.  
  
"No one else among the elders know about shoelaces..." a kitsune came into the clearing. "Who's this?" he added when he stopped beside the choochin-obake and he looked up to Sho.  
  
"I'm Sho, a sky god." Sho relished in his own title, especially since the ame-otoko and the the choochin-obake gasped.  
  
"You're the one who got banished." the chooshin-obake blurted. The kitsune didn't even flinch when he hit the choochin-obake on the head with one of his nine tails. "Call me Kazu. This is Toma, and the other one is Jun. We've got these new shoes, but we're not sure how mortals closed them."  
  
"I know quite a lot about mortals since I can see them every day..." He bent down and tied Toma's shoelaces. "See?"  
  
There was silence, except for the pitter-pattering of the rain by the time Sho straightened up. Toma looked ecstatic and even the grumpy-browed ame-otoko called Jun looked amazed.  
  
"You gotta teach all of us how you did that!" Toma said, practically bouncing but was careful not to move his feet as if the shoelaces might suddenly untie.  
  
"If you teach us your ways, we'll be your followers, for sure." nodded Jun the ame-otoko with a big grin.  
  
"Oy, oy..." Sho chuckled. He didn't think that nonmortals were this...simple.  
  
"Well..." the kitsune named Kazu looked pretty surprised but took a few seconds to articulate himself. "We're kind of indebted to you, sky god Sho."  
  
Sho grinned. "It's nothing! Come on. Here's how."


	2. Satoshi

First impressions usually failed Satoshi. With his downward drooping eyes and punk-ish cut, he seemed like a mortal bum but he was a pretty popular water god, especially among the young rainbow gods who often worked with him in the rain department. He was the coolest  _senpai_  to them, and the  _yankii_  look just added to it, especially when he would be choreographing waves and crafting corals. Everything he made was beautiful, including his minute movements. It was hard to tell if he was passionate or the opposite since his expression rarely changed from the bored look he often had. That is until his sky god colleague was replaced.  
  
"I'm Sho." said the new rain department employee as they bowed to each other. Satoshi grinned, thinking that was the most fitting name for a sky god and that he might just make an entire reef if Sho asked.

It was turning out to be the best job ever until the quality of their rain got worse. It got to the point that they've created too many storms in certain places and too few in the others, quickly becoming part of the many problems causing climate change on a massive scale. They were promptly banned from the rain department and tossed to far away corners of the two sides of the great river between mortals and non-mortals.  
  
For Satoshi, this was practically death. There was no silver lining to the punishment, even if they were told they could meet on the seventh day of the seventh month. It usually rained in the seventh month, anyway.  
  
"On the bright side, senpai," Ryuhei the bubbly water god spoke while bounding beside him, "There's not a lot of work to actually do!"  
  
"Whatever." Satoshi snapped. He had begun to actually like having work to do with Sho around. He still stood by the thought that if they were given enough time, they could have corrected their own mistakes. Now he was relegated to a corner in the mortal world, an island country where he was in charge of a waterfall with Ryuhei the lively water god of the waterfalls in the area and two young rainbow gods who sat not too far, busy chatting and working. Satoshi disliked being a supervisor to them, not that he minds having virtually nothing to do, he just wasn't too fond of calling the shots. Even in the rain department, it was usually Sho who made the decisions.  
  
"Don't be such a gray-ahem." Ryuhei stopped himself short of saying "gray cloud" as soon as Satoshi glared daggers at him. "I mean, what's the worst that could happen?" he immediately diverted.  
  
"I wouldn't  _dare_  say it." Satoshi lifted some mist into the air: their mundane task of the day. There was laughter echoing from where the two rainbow gods sat and Satoshi looked over to them with a jutted chin. "Are you both done with that yet?"  
  
"We're running out of sunlight, senpai." Yuri, the smaller of the two drifted up to the faint rainbow that hung above the waterfall. He tossed the wisps of colored light into the arch and it glowed a little more into visibility. "That's the last of it," the other one, Ryousuke added. "Yuri and I could get some more if we fly high enough but there seem to be gray clouds out."  
  
"I think it's about to r-" Ryuhei was looking at and observing the sky but Satoshi bumped on him lightly.  
  
"Don't you  _dare_  jinx it." He growled.  
  
" _Rain_! Incoming rain! " a thick voice boomed. They all looked up to see a sky god swoop down to join them. It was Junichi the sky god, Satoshi's former colleague at the rain department whom Sho replaced. He landed beside Satoshi and added, "All gods in the field are being recalled to HQ. This rain will become a storm, a pretty big one."  
  
"What are you doing here?" Satoshi asked grumpily. Sure enough, he felt a piercing cold droplet of rain on his nose and shoulders.  
  
"I thought I should send you guys the message," Junichi said lightly. "And it's been ages since I saw you! You even have your own team now!"  
  
"You worked with senpai before?" Yuri looked excited, hearing the talk though his hard work was slowly fading from view. "What was it like?"  
  
This just made Junichi laugh. "I'd tell you all about it if you come with me after my shift. Now that I've warned you that rain is scheduled, and now that the rain has come, I'm quite done here. We need to return before the storm starts."  
  
"You guys go ahead." Satoshi sighed. He didn't want to be around the others at the moment as the day he had been waiting for was now completely destroyed. He rubbed his temples with one hand over his face, it was also an attempt to cover his eyes in case it had gotten tearful. It was hard to tell in the pouring rain. "I have...some things to do a last minute checkup of."  
  
"You can check it after the rain department is done here," Junichi advised with a nod. "Or you can tell us what to check and leave it to us."  
  
"You're back in the rain department?" Satoshi looked at him in surprise. Sho replaced Junichi after the latter was placed in the daylight department.  
  
"Yeah, they moved me back after some rainbow kid freaked about me touching him."  Junichi shrugged. "It was cleared up but they still moved me." He then added with a friendly pat on Satoshi's shoulder. "Higher ups move us whenever they please. It's not your fault nor Sho's fault that I was recalled from the promotion."  
  
There was a loud  _boom_  before any of them could say anything else. It was an excellent quality of thunder accompanied by a carefully measured flash of lightning. That was clearly leftover work of Sho and Satoshi. He felt a twinge of guilt and longing that made his hand automatically clutch his chest. His lip quivered and he marched off.  
  
" _Senpai_!" The rainbow gods called in unison, sounding alarmed. He jumped, his agile and powerful legs rocketing him to a nearby branch like a cat. He surveyed the river and the waterfall. If only it was as easy to fly over the river between the mortal and non-mortal world.  
  
Another  _boom_ , but this time it was much louder. It was too quick to hear nor see anything more, Satoshi just felt a strong force knock him off the branch and he was thrown to the ground.  
  
" _What in the-?_ " he tried to say, but it came out as a cough.  
  
"Are you okay?" Ryuhei was standing over him, holding the tree he was previously standing on. With the feel of cold mud in his hands, Satoshi realized that he was nearly crushed by half a huge tree.  
  
He was more confused that Ryuhei was holding the tree like it was just a sack of rice. He was certainly exerting effort, but rain gods shouldn't be  _that_  strong. Ryuhei grimaced and tossed the weight in a clear area as Junichi swooped down with the two rainbow gods in his arms.  
  
"Watch where you're running, Satoshi!" Junichi yelled over the strengthening rain and winds, his thick arms wound around the rainbow gods who were tucked to his sides. "Your cute kohai duo nearly got crushed flying after you!"  
  
"I'm...I'm sorry-" Satoshi was still confused as Ryuhei helped him up. "Did...did you just lift the tree...?"  
  
"Well, it's just half a tree." Ryuhei waved his hand modestly. "I wasn't thinking. I know you could've run in time, but I acted on my own, I'm sorry."  
  
"This guy packs some muscles. Just like I do!" Junichi said happily, letting the rainbow gods go and giving Ryuhei a slap on the back. Ryuhei nearly fell over and stumbled onto Ryousuke but laughed it off.  
  
"Muscle..." Satoshi caught a glimpse of the waterfall and its connecting river in the distance. The flow was strong, but he could definitely picture Ryuhei and Junichi being able to swim through it.  
  
He had hope. He could swim across the river to meet Sho!  
  
"P-please-" he approached Junichi. "Please teach me how to grow my muscles!"  
  
The other four looked at him uncertainly until Junichi grinned. "Sure! Now let's get out of this storm first!"


	3. Masaki 1

Yokai were not exactly known as the most organized of creatures. They were the complete opposite of humans who were able to form civilizations and societies. These non-mortals don't even have the patience nor the attention span to be able to arrange a group of words in alphabetical order.

And yet, a yokai company was making quite some fuss in the regions just close to the River. A company! No one has ever been able to put Yokai into such a discipline. They started work at eight in the morning and ended at four. They lined up and took turns when needed. They even used meal stubs properly!

At the head of it all is their boss, the sky god with bright eyes and puffy lips. He was usually seen seated with his back straight, fanning himself languidly despite the constantly irregular rain. It was more of a habit than anything. He was preoccupied with overseeing the work of the yokai company. He checked all their salaries and bonuses, consulted the new board of directors for new projects and promoted equality and hard work.

All this started when a group of yokai started following him around when he taught them how to tie their shoes. Now, Kazu the kitsune headed the Yokai Resource Management and was in charge of finding more employees. Jun the ame-otoko was very creative and talented and was put in charge of Research and Development. Hardworking and determined Toma the choochin-obake was put in charge of marketing. Everything was functional and logical and this made Sho incredibly satisfied.

"Attempting to cross the River in this rain...that's crazy." That was all he could say about the River.

* * *

At that very River, Masaki the kappa was listening to his very good friend Kazu the Kitsune. "You're telling me that there's an actual yokai company?" He said, eyebrows raised. "And you want me to join?"

"Come on, you need a new job." Kazu shrugged coolly. " We don't have a kappa in the company, you guys are pretty hard to find around here when you're not swimming through the River."

"I'm not a slave to cash like you," Masaki said simply.

"Yeah. Clearly." Kazu gestured vaguely to Masaki's  _humble_ abode. It was  _very_ humble indeed. The most humble that an abode could be. "You're a slave to sleeping under the starry skies in your unfurnished, roofless...do you call this a house?"

"Hey!" Masaki leaned in. "I like this place. And for the record, I'm a kappa! I don't need a roof!"

"You  _wish_ you had one." Kazu sat back in response to Masaki's closing the gap. "These irregular storms have been so bad, we've had to keep Nure-Jun indoors. And Rai-Toma, too. Because electricity is expensive." Masaki huffed at Kazu's nonchalant talking about their ame-otoko and choochin-obake friends.

"Fine. I need something to do anyway. I'm bored out of my wits since no one is interested in going to the mortal side anymore." Masaki stood up and Kazu followed suit. It used to be Masaki's job to swim back and forth the different sides of the riverbank, being the only one who could. "And recently hearing about the banished sky god makes me so sad. I don't know the extent of his punishment, just that he was chucked here."

"Who knows, maybe he made a pretty nice life here like my boss did." Kazu straightened up his obi as Masaki gathered his tanzaku resume and his last cucumber. "Your boss is a sky god?" Masaki asked as he and Kazu walked.

"Oh come on, gods aren't so uncommon around here. They don't really mind showing up on our side of the River." Kazu's tail swished idly behind them both. "And besides, wouldn't the banished one be busy on this special day?"

 

* * *

Kazu wasn't kidding, their office was as opulent as those that wealthy mortals lived in. It was a pretty big traditional style house, its quaint and peaceful gardens being maintained by busy yokai. There were others doing laundry and even polishing the floor.

"Masaki! Finally, you're joining!" Jun the ame-otoko said impatiently but hardly suppressed a smile. He stood at the gates, drenched from head to toe with a personal rain cloud hanging over his head, complete with lightning flashes. Only Jun could wear a hat so ridiculous, Masaki supposed it was another of his friend's fashion adventures. Jun walked with Masaki and Kazu into the house and they were followed by some yokai servants cleaning up after Jun's cloud. "I just knew you wouldn't give in so easily. But you belong with us." he spoke rather smugly.

Thanks, Nure-ahem-Jun." Masaki realized how quickly Kazu's dumb nicknames stuck to people. "Though I might have to go back to the River from time to time."

"No need!" Kazu chimed, patting Jun's shoulder. "We can send for rain anytime. Jun is pretty popular."

"Anyway, go have your interview. Toma and the boss are waiting inside." Jun lead Masaki down a passage in the well-kept traditional house.

"Wait...today? But it's a holiday, isn't it? The seventh day of the seventh month?" Masaki followed anyway.

Jun chuckled. "We can take breaks but our boss doesn't need them, he says. Go right in."

The interview room was dimly lit by Toma, glowing peacefully as he stood beside a busy figure with sloping shoulders and fancy garb. It was definitely a sky god in the flesh, but Masaki had an odd feeling about it.

"The interview will be conducted by the sky god boss, Sho." Toma introduced. Masaki nearly stumbled in surprise.

"You're the banished one!" Masaki gasped.

"I prefer 'the sky god' since everyone seems to have gotten used to it," Sho replied rather coldly, not even looking up from his paperwork. "And try to not be rude, your friends being my staff shouldn't mean that you're getting this job so quickly."

Masaki came closer to look at him. The sky god looked up at Masaki and his eyes grew wide.

"You're a...kappa," Sho said quietly. Toma looked pretty surprised to see Sho put his writing brush down and Masaki just nodded. "We've never had a kappa employee before." Sho wrinkled his nose and cleared his throat, regaining his composure.

"That's because most of us left." Masaki put his tanzaku resume on Sho's table. "I stayed because I have friends here."

"Friends...that's nice." Sho took a look at the tanzaku but his eyes weren't moving. His already slanted eyebrows had met, and he seemed to be trying to recall something. To Masaki's and Toma's surprise, Sho stood up and walked over to the potted bamboo in the corner. Multiple tanzaku hung from there already.

"Yes, I promised these guys I'm not leaving suddenly," Masaki explained, gauging Sho's reactions despite the latter having his back turned.

"Promise..." Sho looked out the entrance. It was raining pretty hard now, but he could normally see the River from right there. "Crossing the River...in this rain...that's just...crazy."

"Not really." Aiba looked out the entrance too. "That was my job back then..."

"Yes but I'm too busy for-!" Sho turned sharply at this statement but was startled when a loud boom of thunder echoed. He tripped and knocked the bamboo pot and a glittering object fell out.

"Boss, careful." Toma quickly tried to help him up but Sho didn't budge, seeing the little shell that fell out of the plant pot.

Sho picked it up and felt the delicate craftsmanship of each color and groove on the little conch shell. It was a good luck charm that Satoshi the water god once gave him.

_No goodbyes,_ they had promised.

"Sa...satoshi." He whispered. Masaki and Toma looked at each other and Sho shot up, suddenly dashing outside. "Sa-SATO-!"

His voice was defeated by another loud clap of thunder. Some of the other yokai were alarmed from hearing their boss shout and they gathered. Masaki and Toma were right by him already. Sho grabbed Masaki by the shoulders, his grip was strong and his eyes looked a little red.

"Find him., Sho said. "You can do it, right? Find Satoshi! And you'll have the job and all the cucumbers you want!"

"I...I prefer natto-"

"JUST FIND HIM!"

* * *

The River hasn't changed one bit. Its currents were still cruel and many things have been lost in it since time began.

Masaki the kappa wasn't particularly bothered by this at all. He took off the plate on his head and threw it into the water where it grew large enough to hold him. He then balanced himself and cruised calmly across, as if he was simply sliding his way. No one should ever mess with the kappa's plate.

"NEW CHALLENGER!" a voice broke from the other side. Masaki winced as a hunk of muscle nearly toppled him off his plate-raft.

"No. No, you can't be-!" Masaki gasped. His first job in his unofficial work was turning out to be the absolute worst. He hasn't even signed for health insurance yet. They might have called themselves a company, but Sho's group could use a better hiring process.

"I, SATOSHI-CHALL'NGE-YOU-K'PPA- INTO-A DUEL!" The voice was coming from the petite and yet incredibly muscled blond who was bobbing up and down the water, his spiky hair and steroid level muscles emitting a bright light and his eyes were pale blue. And yet, no matter how strong he looked and how vicious the seeming aura around him was, he was struggling to stay afloat in the currents of the river, barely able to choke out his words.

"Who the actual what now?" Masaki blurted. "Are you a Saiyan or something?!"

"This ISN'T MY FINAL FORM!" Satoshi blasted out of the water with a power scream. Masaki braced himself and successfully evaded Satoshi's incoming attack.

"If I beat you, I'll be the strongest and most muscular!" Satoshi prepared to launch himself.

"Wait! Shouldn't you be trying to cross the river?!" Masaki tried to reason with him. "Someone's waiting for y-"

"Nothing is more important than muscle!" Satoshi went for a fast barrage of punches right after leaping out of the water. It was certainly the full strength of a water god. But even water gods didn't belong in that River. Masaki was getting impatient with his delivery mission.

"Fine! I will fight you!" Masaki's plate grew into a fighting ring. Satoshi in his all his huge muscles clambered up on it and did another battle cry as he lunged.

"Swift as a coursing  _riveeeeeeeer_!" Satoshi missed. He turned and attacked again.

"With all the force of a great  _typhoooooon_!" He still missed. It was as if the kappa was an illusion. Satoshi raged on.

"With all the strength of a raging  _FIIIIRE_!" Satoshi felt his fist graze something. A cucumber fell near his foot, sliced.

"How dare you...my cucumber..." Masaki's voice broke with emotion, ignoring the charging Satoshi.

"Mysterious as the dark side of the-"

"THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO LAST ME UNTIL PAYDAY!"

It was a one hit K.O. from Masaki.

"Now if you'll excuse me," Masaki said. He grabbed Satoshi by the ankle out of the water. Satoshi scuffled, weakly trying to get up. "I have a delivery to make." the kappa added.

"Sh...Sho..." Satoshi murmured, unable to support himself on his limbs over the slippery surface of the plate. He flopped to his back. "If I'm muscled enough...I can...I can beat the kappas..and cross..."

"You're crossing with me now." Masaki sighed as the plate slid over the water. "But don't blame me for the time you've wasted."

"Time?" Satoshi tried to look at Masaki's face.

"Don't you know? Time flows differently on the different sides of the River." Masaki continued the voyage, not looking at Satoshi. He never liked how oblivious people can be about the River...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Starring:
> 
> Sho Sakurai as Sho the sky god  
> Masaki Aiba as Masaki the Kappa  
> Jun Matsumoto as Wet Jun (Jun the ame-otoko)  
> Toma Ikuta as Toma the choochin-obake  
> Kazunari Ninomiya as Kazu the kitsune
> 
> And
> 
> Satoshi Ohno as Ohno the water god
> 
> Notes:
> 
> Nure-Jun (Wet Jun)  
> Jun's name is also the kanji for "moist".
> 
> Rai-Toma  
> Light (Raito) + Toma
> 
> tanzaku  
> a piece of paper where a wish is written on Tanabata; it is then hung on a bamboo
> 
> kappa and cucumber (and natto)  
> cucumbers are kappas' favorite food, natto (fermented soybeans) is a good gift for kappas too
> 
> "NEW CHALLENGER!"  
> heard in Tekken 6 onwards when someone joins the game to fight the player
> 
> "This isn't even my final form!"  
> DragonBall reference in honor of Arashi's generation, particularly because it's Ohno's favorite
> 
> "Are you a Saiyan or something?!"  
> another DragonBall reference, and yes, Ohno's in Saiyan form
> 
> Satoshi's battle cries:  
> Swift as a coursing river  
> With all the force of a great typhoon  
> With all the strength of a raging fire  
> Mysterious as the dark side of the (moon)  
> Yes, it's To Be a Man from Mulan.


	4. Mr. Funk

Mortals live very short lives, hence they have given their best to build and research and try until they're almost a century old. Few of them reach that number at all. They're given a slow world so they could enjoy their pitifully short existence to the fullest, and yet some don't even try.  
  
Non-mortals live excruciatingly long, even for their own sake. They don't push for discovery for they have all the time to learn. They don't strive for achievement for they have unique capabilities and powers right at their disposal. To balance this, they were given the fast world.  
  
Satoshi's eyes grew wide when Masaki told him this.

"But I'm a god." Satoshi had finally sat up, his expression rather frenzied. "He's...we're...we're both gods."  
  
"Yes," Masaki still didn't look at him, feeling so awful to be the bringer of bad news. "Gods can exist on both sides, just as kappa can, so time is different for us, too."  
  
"Well!" Satoshi saw the riverbank at last. "Then it should be fine."  
  
"I suppose," Masaki sighed as they both got off the plate. It shrunk to a normal size and Masaki put it back on his head. "But these worlds...they're not meant for gods, you know? You're supposed to go back to the sky from time to time..."  
  
Satoshi wasn't listening. He had bypassed the laws and the natural order. For Sho's sake, Satoshi knew that he couldn't be stopped.  
  
The riverbank on the non-mortal side looked more idyllic than the side Satoshi had been accustomed to. He had put his heart and soul into muscle training, obsessing over how strong he got. He had tried to swim through the river every day but never got too far, always rescued by Ryuhei. He was camped out just by the riverbank on the other side. He turned and found that he couldn't see the mortal side riverbank anymore.  
  
"Where is he?" Satoshi asked Masaki, who was walking briskly through some tall grass.  
  
"You'll see," Masaki muttered.  
  
"Hello?" a weak voice croaked from the clearing. Masaki stopped walking instantly. Satoshi bumped right on the kappa's back.  
  
"Watch it," Satoshi said angrily as he stood back up and came in the clearing.  
  
"Satoshi?" the weak voice croaked.  
  
Sitting on a rock in the clearing was an old, withered man. He had the glow of a sky god and the  _kariginu_ of one. He could have been anyone, an elder sky god. But Satoshi knew those eyes anywhere.  
  
"Sho..." He came closer, tears filling his eyes.  
  
"Satoshi," Sho replied.  
  
"I'm sorry," Masaki whispered with a sad bow. But then, he heard laughter.  
  
Sho was laughing. "Look at you!" He said, beaming at Satoshi as he got up, wobbling on his old knees rather dangerously. Satoshi smiled solemnly and took him by the hand to help him. "Your arms are tougher!" Sho felt Satoshi's shoulders and torso for a moment. "Have you been working out?"  
  
"You have no idea." Satoshi chuckled as Sho touched his face.  
  
"Your face hasn't changed that much," Sho bent slightly to take a good look and Satoshi grinned, his eyes looked dazed. "Still grumpy looking...still roundish...still darkish...like an acorn," They laughed at this and Masaki just gaped at them. "But you look thin! Have you been eating? Did you eat already? I wasn't allowed to even send you a bento."  
  
"Yes, I have and don't worry about it." Satoshi looked incredibly delirious and happy. He gazed fixedly at Sho. "But I guess I'm hungry."  
  
"Would you like me to cook?" Sho said happily. This time, Satoshi laughed too.  
  
"Oh come on, I'm still a bad cook sure, but you'd eat anyway!" Sho lightly hit Satoshi's head.  
  
"You haven't changed at all," Satoshi breathed.  
  
"What!" Masaki blurted. "Yes he has! Are you both not seeing each other clearly right now?"  
  
Sho let Satoshi go and clasped his pale and wrinkled hands on Masaki's. "Thank you, Masaki the kappa. Thank you so much. You can have my company. My house, everything. Take what you want. You've done for us a favor we can't return."  
  
"But..." Masaki looked at Sho's lined face. He surely was still as beautiful as the rumors say, but he had clearly aged a whole lot more than Satoshi. Masaki looked uncertainly to the latter.  
  
"Yes, thank you so much for bringing us together again, despite it all." Satoshi put his arm around Sho's shoulder. "I'd make anything for you, just ask."  
  
"Wait, wait." Masaki put a hand on each of their shoulder. "Why? You both were banned from each other. You got cheated half a lifetime of separation thanks to the curse and your own little distractions. Yet why is it like everything's just gonna be okay?"  
  
Sho and Satoshi looked at each other and laughed again. "Silly kappa." Sho said. "We're brought back together thanks to you!"  
  
"It's because we love each other." Satoshi answered serenely and Sho hit him lightly again. "The way you say it makes it kind of embarrassing."  
  
"Oh come on, who're we hiding from?" Satoshi replied, leaning languidly on Sho who stepped away with a chuckle.  
  
"B-because...love?" Masaki sobbed. "Love?!"  
  
"Y...yes." Sho's eyebrows shot up in alarm and Satoshi froze like a deer in the headlights as Masaki messily cried.  
  
"Love!" Masaki suddenly blurted out. "Yes, love. Your love knows no boundaries!"  
  
"Yes, I suppose you can say that." Sho took a step away from Masaki and Satoshi automatically covered him.  
  
"I'm actually not a kappa." Masaki raised his arms and formed a gesture close to his face and his kappa features faded. A brightly colored and glittery suit materialized on him, with a feathered boa on his shoulders.  "I'm a legendary god of love, I go by the name Mr. Funk!" he announced.  
  
There was a flash of lightning and Masaki the Kappa fully transformed into a god of love, his body radiating a soft glow. Satoshi and Sho gaped at him in shock.  
  
"As a kappa in disguise, I waited for something beautiful like this to come from the divide between mortals and non-mortals. Someone to break the limits for this purpose!" He was still crying messily. "Mortals and non-mortals are both too afraid to leave their little bubbles of existence for others. Not a lot of people would take risks for love!"  
  
"Yes, but we're neither." Sho pointed out from behind Satoshi. "We're gods-"  
  
"STILL!" Masaki cried, a wave of pink light and warmth flashed from him. "You both are an example to behold. And for that, I bless your love and lift your curse. The seventh day of the seventh month shall henceforth be the time of wishes made in honor of yours."  
  
"Thank...Thank you...I guess." Sho and Satoshi exchanged looks. They were both startled when Masaki grabbed their hands.  
  
"And from here on, you will always be together. Here and in all your parallel lives." Masaki nodded sagely at them.  
  
"The what?" Satoshi's mind was absolutely left behind.  
  
"You will be tested from time to time. Sometimes, one of you will pass away first, but if the other is dedicated and never resentful, you will always have this blessing." Masaki let them both go and they realized they were glowing.  
  
"Wait-wait-what-?!" Even the very articulate Sho was lost for words.  
  
"I shall put you both among the stars now, to dance forever in the sky!" Masaki announced happily as the couple held hands and glowed more and more brightly...

* * *

_Summer in Tokyo, late 90's._  
  
Two teens in yukata looked idly at the sky as they shared some cotton candy.  
  
"Hey Satoshi, did you see that?" the one in red yukata pointed to the sky at a suddenly brightened pair of stars.  
  
"Yeah, what's that?" the one called Satoshi followed the other's gaze, accidentally dropping a bit of cotton candy on his blue yukata. "Sho-kun knows more about stars and everything."  
  
"It's not like I memorized star maps as a hobby or something, come on." Sho laughed. "Didn't you paint something about Tanabata back then?"  
  
"It was a sketch." Ohno smiled.  
  
"It's as good as pro. I'm telling you. Art college will be great for you." Sho shrugged.

* * *

  
  
_Summer in Yokohama, en route to Tokyo, 2015_  
  
"Sakurai, what's that?" a petite man in an expensive suit pointed to the sky in front of his luxury car as he leaned forward from the backseat.  
  
"That?" his assistant called Sakurai peeked. "Oh shachou. That's a traffic light."  
  
"No, jeez! The stars!" the company president huffed impatiently.

"Is shachou..." Sakurai leaned closer to the company president behind him and peered through his glasses intensely. "...an idiot?"  
  
The company president's eyebrows joined and he jutted his chin angrily.  
  
"That's a binary star system. They 're pulled together by each other's gravity. That particular pair is rumored to only be seen by star-crossed lovers." Sakurai smirked.  
  
"Wha-!" Shachou gaped for a moment, trying to form words."Are-are you implying we're something like that?! You're  _fired_! Absolutely fired!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Starring:
> 
> Sho Sakurai as Sho the sky god  
> Satoshi Ohno as Ohno the water god  
> Masaki Aiba as Masaki the Kappa "Mr. Funk"
> 
> Notes:
> 
> Ending scenes look familiar?  
> Look up 粘着系男子の15年ネチネチ [A Clingy Boy's Fifteen-Year Pursuit](http://lorchenne.livejournal.com/8102.html)  
> and 世界一難しい友情 [World's Most Difficult Friendship](http://lorchenne.livejournal.com/5532.html)
> 
> This is a fantasy romance-comedy and there's a little drama at the end.  
> The story is loosely based on the Tanabata legend and a song trilogy by [家の裏でマンボウが死んでるP](http://vocaloid.wikia.com/wiki/Ie_no_Ura_de_Manbou_ga_ShinderuP) of the same title.  
> [More information here.](http://vocaloid.wikia.com/wiki/Fools_Among_the_Stars)
> 
> The god of love, sky god and water god are part of my own universe for this story and is not derived from any myth or existing work.  
> The yokai have been adopted to this world and are more like metahumans than monsters.

**Author's Note:**

> Starring:
> 
> Sho Sakurai as Sho the sky god  
> Jun Matsumoto as Wet Jun (Jun the ame-otoko)  
> Toma Ikuta as Toma the choochin-obake  
> Kazunari Ninomiya as Kazu the kitsune
> 
> And
> 
> Satoshi Ohno as Ohno the water god
> 
> Notes:
> 
> This is a fantasy romance-comedy and there's a little drama at the end.  
> The story is loosely based on the Tanabata legend and a song trilogy by 家の裏でマンボウが死んでるP of the same title.  
> Links will be in the last part.
> 
> The sky god and water god are part of my own universe for this story and is not derived from any myth or existing work.  
> The yokai have been adopted to this world and are more like metahumans than monsters.
> 
> ame-otoko (literally: Rain Man)  
> yokai who summons rain (the ones who make rain are sky gods and water gods in this world)  
> yes, he's better as a vampire or something  
> but Jun's name could be read as "wet"
> 
> choochin-obake (literally: Lantern creature)  
> yokai of a lantern  
> in this world, they appear human except they glow in the dark  
> it's almost a name pun because Toma is a constellation or something OTL
> 
> kitsune  
> come on, you just want me to call Nino a fox


End file.
